Choices
by somethingborrowed3
Summary: Astoria's fifth year at Hogwarts is filled with terror and fear and at every turn she chooses to save herself by taking the easy path. Battle has erupted in Hogwarts and Astoria now has one last chance to make up for her past wrongs.


**This can be taken as a follow-up or companion fic to my story, _The Potions Master_. Reading it is not strictly needed to understand this fic at all, since it recalls an event within the books (The Battle of Hogwarts) in the point of view of a person other than Harry. I may even decide to make a series out of it. However, as there are certain parallels between the two stories, virtual cookies to those who can catch it in the reviews!**

**Anyway, this details Astoria Greengrass' experience in her fifth year of Hogwarts (the trio's seventh) and her actions in the Battle of Hogwarts. Enjoy!**

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><p><em>Remember, if the time should come when you have to make a choice between what is right and what is easy, remember what happened to a boy who was good, and kind, and brave, because he strayed across the path of Lord Voldemort. -Albus Dumbledore<em>

Astoria still remembers her first night at Hogwarts, sitting in front of the entire school on a wooden stool with a large, oversized hat covering her eyes.

The sorting hat had made several observations, the least of which suggested that she should be in Gryffindor. _No!_ she had yelled silently in response, immediately frightened at the prospect and what her parents might do when they found out.

_But you are brave and courageous, if not a bit rebellious. And you have a distinct wish to _not_ live under your sister's shadow any longer._ Astoria couldn't disagree with that. But she was eleven years old, and her parents were God. While she _was_ a bit rebellious and would sometimes do things just to annoy them, getting sorted into Gryffindor would do more than just _annoy_ them. They would be _furious_!

So Astoria was sorted into Slytherin like every good offspring of a good pureblood family.

She never acted like a good Slytherin, however. In her third year she had pointedly refused Dolores Umbridge's disgustingly sweet offer to join the Inquisitorial Squad and she was sure that Umbridge to this day, lying shivering in her tiny Azkaban cell, still didn't know who it was that enchanted one of her kittens to suddenly meow muggle rock music. Once a day.

But her real test came during her fifth year. It was her O.W.L. year but exams had been all but canceled pending You-Know-Who's takeover of the ministry and Hogwarts. Although her pureblood status and membership in Slytherin house made life considerably easy for her, it also made it much harder. _Because she was given a choice_.

Astoria remembers standing silently in the Great Hall amongst her Slytherin peers. Amycus and Alecto taking turns casting the Cruciatus Curse on a group of second-year Hufflepuffs. The second-years didn't do anything wrong, of course. They were at wrong place in the wrong time.

The Carrows did something like this happened weekly, when they would gather a seemingly random group of young witches and wizards (not from Slytherin House, of course) and torture them for all to witness.

There was no purpose to the torture. It was a 'ritual' that was done simply because they could. And it sickened Astoria to her bones. She glanced around at her Slytherin peers. Over the Hufflepuffs' loud screams, Astoria could hear snickering and see grins plastered on her peers' faces.

Many were nudging each other and laughing silently, pointing at a particularly disheveled young girl who was on the ground, shaking and whimpering.

Very few Slytherins had solemn faces that matched Astoria's. She glanced at the Ravenclaws to her right and the Hufflepuffs to her left and the Gryffindors at the far end of the hall. They had all been magically binded and lined up to watch their classmates be tortured. Their eyes had been cursed to stay open and their wands had been all but confiscated before the ritual had began.

They looked eerie in Astoria's eyes. Unmoving but for the tears rolling down their cheeks. Astoria couldn't imagine the pain that seemed to exert from those unmoving eyes. Her eyes landed on Anthony Goldstein, his body seemed to be almost shaking. His brother was in the group at the front, and Alecto had just cast a particularly strong Cruciatus Curse.

She saw Cho Chang in the Ravenclaw group. Her fingers had somehow broken free of the curse and they were twitching, unable to do much else. And Astoria could almost picture the Creevy brothers standing with the Gryffindors, imagine their eyes wild in fury and body contorted in anger.

But the curse held and no one moved but the Slytherins. Astoria glanced to her right. Mafalda Weasley stood there, still and unmoving, as if she were a victim of the Full Body Bind curse. Her eyes betrayed no emotion but her body was shivering in fear.

Mafalda was Astoria's best friend at Hogwarts. How that had happened was the biggest mystery of life. Their personalities consistently clashed. Whereas Astoria was quick-thinking and would often jump into a situation without thinking of the consequences, Mafalda was meticulous and cunning, often analyzing every detail before setting to work on any project. She was an impressive witch and didn't hesitate to show it off. She was also extremely prone to gossip, a personality trait that led to Astoria and her butting heads more often than not.

Mafalda was a true Slytherin. Astoria was not.

Yet she and Astoria both shared a similar disdain for the prejudices of their fellow housemates, a single connection that forged a bond tighter than many at Hogwarts. Daughter of a squib and a muggle, she was half-blood at best, so her Slytherin qualities must have been very prominent so as to make the Sorting Hat take the risk of putting her in Slytherin. Astoria remembers her being targeted for expulsion this year and charged with theft of magic. Luckily even Umbridge wasn't blind or delusional enough to pursue a magical-theft case against a _Weasley_.

But at this very moment Mafalda was being very un-Mafalda. She wasn't grinning or looking on with approval like many of her housemates. But she didn't feel any remorse, didn't feel any sadness, didn't feel _anything_. Mafalda was cuffed not by magic but by her own fear. She had chosen the easy path and to simply ignore all that was happening.

But Astoria still had a choice. The Slytherins hadn't been binded as the rest of the school had been. Snape seemed to believe that to be in Slytherin was to believe in You-Know-Who's cause.

Astoria remembered Dumbledore's speech at the end of her second year, the year when You-Know-Who had returned and killed Cedric Diggory.

"_Remember, if the time should come when you have to make a choice between what is right and what is easy, remember what happened to a boy who was good, and kind, and brave, because he strayed across the path of Lord Voldemort. Remember Cedric Diggory._"

But Astoria couldn't choose what was easy, not as her fingers slowly itched toward her wand, fighting the overwhelming desire to step forward and curse the Carrows into oblivion. She imagined dueling Professor Snape and holding him at her mercy. She imagined the Carrows flung out of the Great Hall by an especially powerful curse and falling down the cliffs to their deaths below.

But she wasn't powerful enough to do so, not _nearly_ powerful enough to do so. But a sudden Slytherin sense of self-preservation took over and her wand hand dropped limply to her side, empty.

She spent the next hour with her head lowered and hair in her face to hide the tears. She thought of green hills and blue, clear skies. She tried to feel the warmth of the rays of a springtime sun hitting her skin. She tried to remember the joys of dancing in the rain, despite her mother's harsh chagrin.

And then she heard another scream. _Crucio_. And the tears came rolling down again. Dumbledore had made a plea to the school at the end of her second year. She had failed him. Her choice was to do what was easy. And so Astoria remained silent and endured the shrieks and yells.

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><p>Studying for O.W.L.s was suck a damn waste of time. But Professor Slughorn insisted, since we were going to take the exam eventually, if not this year. And if we didn't get the opportunity to take the test this year, he would give a mock exam to see how well prepared we were if it actually happened.<p>

He had told his Potions class this with a bright smile on his face, a smile that didn't falter when none of his students shared his enthusiasm.

Astoria groaned loudly as she flipped the pages of _Magical Draughts and Potions_. She didn't give a damn about which direction to rotate the Pesimillian Potion in its fifth step. And she definitely did not give a damn about how to properly stew a soup base for crystallized pineapples that Slughorn was _so_ fond of teaching.

Despite her complaints, Slughorn was one of Astoria's favorite teachers. Head of Slytherin house, he really was the first Slytherin Astora had met who shared similar personality traits as her. He shared her love of crystallized pineapples, for one. But first and fore-most, he was a professor who absolutely ignored blood-status and the prejudices of the Slytherins in his generation.

He had protected her when Alecto caught her sneaking around the halls after-dark, trying to find the dungeon where a first-year Ravenclaw had been tied and beaten the night before. And she had seen, first hand, what Slughorn did to protect his students from all houses. Astoria would say that Slughorn tried harder than even McGonagall or Flitwick. And _definitely_ harder than his predecessor, Professor Snape.

Astoria may be young, but she wasn't stupid. She had mourned Dumbledore's death as much as the next student, and hated Snape as much as a Slytherin possibly could. But she noticed the subtle moments when Snape would whisper an incantation to blunt the effects of a Cruciatus Curse. She didn't miss the fact that Slughorn had somehow ended up with vials of healing potions for his students, despite the fact that his teaching schedule left no time for brewing such complicated mixtures. And she definitely didn't miss the implication of Severus Snape's absence to the Carrows' weekly torture rituals.

Snape's actions had confused her all year but she didn't have time to ponder more deeply because a frightened and disheveled Slughorn had just clambered into the Slytherin Common Room.

Astoria looked up at him, and curious look on her face.

"H-hello kids," Slughorn managed to stammer. "Will you mind waking everyone up for me? I've got an important announcement to make." He waved his hands at Astoria and the other fifth-years who were studying around her.

They looked around at each other and complied without a word. But Astoria stayed behind, her gaze never leaving a thoroughly distressed Slughorn as he plopped himself down on the nearest amrchair, closing his eyes and letting out a deep sigh.

"Ahem."

Slughorn's eyes shot open in surprise and his gaze landed on Astoria's similarly inquiring one.

"What's wrong?" Astoria asked.

"You'll see," Slughorn replied offhandedly, waving his hands as if it wasn't a big deal. "Go be a dear and help the others wake everyone up, will you?"

Astoria shrugged. "No need," she said as the first group of students began trickling into the common room. "They're coming down already. So there's no reason for me to get up and do work that will be done anyway."

Slughorn looked at Astoria, mouth hanging slightly open. Shrugging and returning back to his armchair, he once again closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh.

When all the Slytherins had assembled, Slughorn began explaining what had happened that night. Astoria's mind was swirling. _Snape jumping out the window. You-Know-Who planning an attack. Evacuation. Battle. Slytherins. Death Eaters. Parents. Gryffindors. Headmistress McGonagall._

Astoria had been standing still, wide-eyed, when Slughorn dismissed them to the Great Hall. If it hadn't been for Mafalda tugging on the hem of her robes, Astoria may have just stood there for the next hour.

Professor McGonagall was standing at the Headmistress' podium speaking with a magnified voice to an increasingly nervous and twitchy hall. _Harry potter returning. You-Know-Who planning an attack. Evacuation. Battle._ _Room of Requirement. _Astoria's mind grasped onto every word, every detail that would help her survive the coming night. She was acting very much like Mafalda. Her self-preservation instinct won over everything and she was determined to survive the night.

After all, her parents had somehow angered You-Know-Who sometime in the last few months and she _really_ didn't want to be in his way when he came marching.

A Hufflepuff boy, Ernie Macmillan, had bravely stood up and yelled, "And what if we want to stay and fight?" There was a murmur of agreement and a some scattered applause. Astoria was silent.

"If you are of age, you may stay," Minerva responded.

"What about our things?" called a girl at the Ravenclaw table. "Our trunks, our owls?"

"We have no time to collect possessions," said Professor McGonagall. "The important thing is to get you out of here safely."

"Where's Professor Snape?" Daphne asked suddenly. Astoria looked disdainfully at her older sister. She didn't believe Slughorn when he said Snape jumped out the window. So she was asking McGonagall?

"He has, to use the common phrase, done a bunk," replied Professor McGonagall, and a great cheer erupted from the Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and Ravenclaws.

A flurry of activity erupted around her as the staff, prefect, and Head Boy/Girl tried to restore calm and set up an orderly system of evacuation into the Room of Requirement. Astoria looked up and down the Slytherin table, all of whom looked somber and looking increasingly out-of-place.

Suddenly, a loud magnified voice filled the room. It wasn't Professor McGonagall's, yet it sounded strangely familiar.

"I know you are preparing to fight." The voice of You-Know-Who rang out loud and clear. "Your efforts arefutile. You cannot fight me. I do not want to kill you. I have great respect for the teachers of Hogwarts. I do not want to spill magical blood." The room immediately fell silent and still.

You-Know-Who continued. "Give me Harry Potter and none shall be harmed. Give me Harry Potter, and I shall leave the school untouched. Give me Harry Potter, and you should be rewarded. You have until midnight."

Every head in the hall collectively turned towards the Gryffindor table, where Harry Potter stood proudly and bravely, slumped over and disheveled, but still very courageously.

Pansy Parkinson immediately stood up and pointed at Harry. "But he's there! Potter's there! Someone grab him!" Astoria felt a flash of annoyance for her sister's best friend, and her hand suddenly reached for her wand.

She needn't have bothered, however, for there was a sudden, united movement from the Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff tables as their occupants stood up in one motion to face the Slytherin table, several pulling out wands from pockets and sleeves and pointing them at Pansy menacingly.

"Thank you, Miss Parkinson," said Professor McGonagall in a clipped voice. "You will leave the Hall first with Mr. Filch. If the rest of your House could follow."

Filch grabbed Pansy's elbow roughly and led her out of the room. The rest of the Slytherins stood up and followed them out. Astoria was near the back, with Mafalda. She _was_ in the back when Draco and his goons melted away.

Distinctly not caring what Draco was going to do, probably to risk his own neck doing something laughably stupid, Astoria trudged on, eager to get as far away from You-Know-Who and his Death Eaters as soon as possible.

She continued to mindlessly follow the Slytherins and Filch up to the seventh-floor corridor, mind completely blank and suddenly feeling very tired.

"What do you think's going to happen?" Mafalda whispered to her as they clambered out of the tunnel and into Hog's Head.

A man called Charles Weasley was there, waiting for them, gathered around a group of people Astoria recognized as Hogsmeade shopkeepers and residents.

Astoria shrugged. "I don't know. I just want to survive and get the hell out of here."

Mafalda nodded in agreement as the first of the Slytherins were Apparated out of the area.

The arrival of increasingly larger groups of young students to be evacuated bogged the process down extremely quickly and Hog's Head was quickly becoming overcrowded. Astoria and Mafalda found a corner and sat down grimly, each clutching a bottle of firewhisky they had swiped from the counter. Nobody seemed to notice or care as the pair of them downed the alcohol fervently.

Astoria's mind flashed back to the events of the past year, guilt rising up within her stomach and threatening to make her vomit. She could hear echoes of the Carrow twins' victims in her ears, see their twisting and mutilated bodies in her mind's eye, and even feel the pain that they must have been facing in their vulnerability.

She could have done something, _anything_, to protect them. She was an upperclassman for Merlin's sake, and as a Slytherin especially, she even had the _responsibility_ to protect them. But it was too late, Astoria thought sadly, as she heard a rumble in the distance and the roars of giants and spells as the battle began.

She would fade into the hallows of history and her family would be discredited for their financial involvement in You-Know-Who's operations.

More students were flooding in every second, and parents and other Harry Potter sympathizers were apparating in at the same time, intent on joining the battle in Hogwart's defense. _News of the battle must have been spreading somehow._

Astoria noticed Slughorn sitting at the bar, clutching an empty bottle of butterbeer grimly. Astoria sympathized with him. He was Head of Slytherin house so obviously he had been kicked out right along with his students.

The room suddenly stilled and there were shrieks and gasps of surprise as You-Know-Who's voice seemed to fill the air around them, as if he were standing right there in Hog's Head with them.

"You have fought," said the high, cold voice, "valiantly. Lord Voldemort knows how to value bravery. " Slughorn inadvertently shivered. "Yet you have sustained heavy losses. If you continue to resist me, you will all die, one by one. I do not wish this to happen. Every drop of magical blood spilled is a loss and a waste. Lord Voldemort is merciful. I command my forces to retreat immediately. You have one hour. Dispose of your dead with dignity. Treat your injured."

"I speak now, Harry Potter, directly to you. You have permitted your friends to die for you rather than face me yourself. I shall wait for one hour in the Forbidden Forest. If, at the end of that hour, you have not come to me, have not given yourself up, then battle recommences. This time, I shall enter the fray myself, Harry Potter, and I shall find you, and I shall punish every last man, woman, and child who has tried to conceal you from me. One hour."

You-Know-Who's voice melted away and the activity in Hog's Head resumed. Astoria noticed that Slughorn had, during the commotion disappeared.

She took another gulp of firewhisky, frowning as the burning liquid traveled down her throat. So You-Know-Who was going after Harry, was he? This whole mad campaign of bloodshed and death just so he could kill one boy. One boy who he couldn't kill sixteen years ago when he was still a baby?

Astoria felt anger rise up within her as she slammed her empty firewhisky bottle to the ground. Crack.

Mafalda looked up at her in surprise. "What?"

"I'm going to go fight," Astoria whispered. "I _have _to."

"No!" Mafalda yelled in reply. "You'll die!"

Astoria sighed. "I don't care. You saw all those under-aged students sneak back into the battle. There are _second-years_ in there, Mafalda!" she shrieked, pointing a shaking finger and the burning castle in the distance. "I _have _to help them. I _have_ to protect them. Do what I couldn't do all those times earlier this year."

Mafalda was silent.

"Remember what Dumbledore told us at the end of our second year?" Astoria asked with a shaky voice.

Mafalda nodded slowly. "Something about a choice...a choice b-between what is r-right, and what is easy."

"Yep," Astoria said. "We've been choosing easy over right for too long, Mafalda." Astoria stood up, gripping her wand tightly. "I plan on fixing that."

Astoria began walking away, then stopped and turned to face Mafalda. "Will you come with me?" Her eyes were hopeful but full of fear.

Mafalda let out a sob, releasing a torrent of tears that she had held inside for a year. "Astoria!" she sobbed, running forward and hugging her friend tightly. "D-don't do anything stupid, 'kay?"

Astoria patted her on the back, smiling despite herself. "I won't. And I promise I'll be alive and return, all right?"

Mafalda nodded. "Damn, you always were the one to jump into everything without thinking, huh?" she joked.

Astoria grinned. "Yeah, and you always were always one to over-analyze everything."

Mafalda began tearing up again. "Oh Torie, you know I couldn't abandon you. B-but...I just can't do it. I don't think we would survive."

Astoria looked at Mafalda sadly. "You stay here then, I'll be okay." She pulled Mafalda in one last hug. "I have to do this," she whispered in her ear. Mafalda nodded in understanding.

Astoria turned and ran back to the tunnel leading back to the Room of Requirement. Behind her, she could hear Mafalda crying.

Astoria had entered the Room of Requirement right at the heels of an elderly old lady who looked like she should be dead, to put it bluntly, not fighting against Death Eaters. But she had made it just in time, for the old lady (she heard someone call her Augusta?) had sealed off the entrance just as she had come through.

Astoria was in a bit of a predicament. She had managed to stun (and accidentally kill one, she didn't want to think about that) a few Death Eaters and a surprising number of Acromantulas. Her Slytherin robes helped her greatly, for it added an element of surprise against enemies who simply didn't see the Greengrass daughter lashing out with such fury.

She had specifically targeted those sadists who were hunting down the younger students. She saw Travers kill a second-year Gryffindor and just as he was about to raise his wand to kill a nearby Hufflepuff boy, Astoria killed him. A Killing Curse square in his back. She wretched on the ground.

"A Slytherin!" the Hufflepuff boy she had just saved yelled. "Traitor! Coward! Murderer!" he screamed, sending a full-body bind curse her direction. Astoria lazily blocked it.

"Who are you calling traitor?" she screamed at the Hufflepuff. "I just saved your _life_!"

But the child was so caught up in the flow of the battle, so angry at the death of his friend, that he continued sending hexes and curses in Astoria's direction. He was still too young to understand, too immature. He would surely die if left alone...

"_Stupify_!" Astoria yelled. The boy fell to the ground, stunned. And with a whip of her wand, she slid the lifeless boy into a hidden corner, hopefully where any passing Death Eater would think him dead and ignore him.

Astoria was exhausted. Up until then, she hadn't killed a single Death Eater (or even Acromantula) purposely. But Travers had wound her up so much with his attitude that she absent-mindedly threw a killing curse at his back. On purpose. Without remorse. And the thought scared her. _Its my Gryffindor do without thinking attitude again_, Astoria thought wryly.

She felt like throwing up again but her stomach's contents had already been emptied. She lay momentarily on the ground, dizzied, and probably would have been killed had Madam Pomfrey not ran over to her and cradled her in her arms.

"Astoria!" she admonished. "Are you okay?"

Astoria nodded weakly, blinking several times. "Yeah, I just killed Travers..." Astoria's eyes opened widely. "He was going to kill a little boy!" Astoria shivered involuntarily until she thought about how she had managed to save him. And with a pang of recognition, she remembered that second-year Hufflepuff at the 'ritual' that day. His scream echoed in her ears and her body erupted in goosebumps.

Madam Pomfrey nodded understandingly. She had seen it all today. She reached into her robes and pulled out a small vial containing a clear liquid. "Drink this. You'll be all right."

Astoria took the potion from her and thanked her profusely.

She heard a Death Eater behind her grunt and collapse on the floor. Madam Pomfrey's face was scrunched up in anger and her wand was pointed outward threateningly. Astoria couldn't help it as a loud laugh escaped her lips.

The tide of the battle was turning. Charlie and Slughorn had just run in from Hogsmeade at the front of a horde of parents and Hogsmeade shopkeepers/residents. Kreacher was leading an army of house elves who were harassing the Death Eaters at every turn. And the centaurs' fiery arrows seemed to be the bane of the Acromantula's existence.

Death Eaters were succumbing to the sheer overwhelming fact that they were outnumbered. The battle had migrated and congregated into the Great Hall. There she saw Flitwick dueling Dolohov with a fierce glint in his eye. She saw Hagrid shove Macnair roughly against the wall, knocking him out instantly. Yaxley was brought down by George and Lee, Greyback killed by Ron and Neville... everywhere the tide of the battle was turning against the Death Eaters as many simply began turning tail and fleeing.

And in the middle of it all, Lucius and Narcissa, having already surrendered, looking helplessly, calling futilely, for their son. And then Astoria saw Draco, saw the family run towards each other, and embrace tightly. Fighting continued to swirl around her, but Astoria smiled.

She never should have let her guard down though, she realized too late that You-Know-Who had spotted her in the fray and his slit-like eyes narrowed as he advanced towards her.

Astoria's eyes widened in fear as she slowly began backing away, her heartbeat thumping loudly against her chest. "No, NO!" Astoria screamed. "HELP!" She raised a shaking wand at You-Know-Who as she scrambled backwards. In her haste, she tripped over a pile of debris and fell on her back.

"You will _pay_ for your father's treachery, Greengrass," Voldemort snarled. He raised his wand. Astoria shut her eyes tight. This was the end... "_Ava_–"

"_Protego!_" Slughorn interrupted, jumping in front of Astoria, the force of his shield charm sending You-Know-Who sprawling.

"You will not harm my students, Tom!" Slughorn yelled, his face twisted in a mixture of sadness and regret, as well as anger and revulsion. It would have been funny to look at in any other situation.

You-Know-Who's eyes glinted as he stared Slughorn down. "Professor," he grinned, mock bowing. "How nice of you to join the battle. I'd have thought you would have run off by now. After all, it was you who leaked my little secret..."

Astoria didn't know what he was talking about, but she noticed Slughorn gasp and You-Know-Who snarl. "_Avada Kedavra!_" he yelled.

Slughorn had violently grabbed Astoria's robes and jumped out of the way just in time. Slughorn raised his own wand in retaliation and there was a loud bang, leaving You-Know-Who slightly off-balance.

Astoria watched in awe and Slughorn and You-Know-Who dueled. She had always respected Slughorn as a teacher, and as a potions master. But never had she thought that Slughorn could _fight_! Sparks flew as the two powerful wizards dueled in a battle of skill and stamina.

Astoria gasped as a Killing Curse came within an inch of connecting... But Slughorn yelled something inaudible and a series of fireballs hurled themselves and You-Know-Who. His eyes widened but was able to avoid them with no marks but a slightly singed robe.

McGonagall and Kingsley soon joined the fray, and from a distance, Astoria saw Bellatrix dueling Hermoine, Luna, and Ginny all at once. The two duels fought their way to the center of the Great Hall, as Hogwarts' defenders gathered around to watch.

_Surely the war is over and the battle is won_, Astoria thought. Then she saw a killing curse miss Ginny by an inch.

"Not my daughter, you bitch!" Molly Weasley yelled at the top of her lungs, brandishing her wand and shoving the three girls aside.

"What will happen to your children when I've killed you? When Mummy's gone the same way as Freddie?" Bellatrix teased, laughing in what was possibly insanity and she toyed with Molly.

"You – will – never – touch – our – children – again!" Molly replied in renewed anger, a mother lion defending the lives and futures of her cubs. It was frightening to watch. The duel ended quickly though, Molly hitting Bellatrix square in the chest with some kind of a curse, instantly killing her.

The Great Hall burst into applause but You-Know-Who roared in anger. A jet of green light exploded from him, sending Slughorn, McGonagall, and Kingsley flying in opposite directions.

"Professors!" Astoria yelled instinctively, but she only took one step when a hand from the crowd reached out and grabbed her shoulders, stopping her. You-Know-Who was concentrating on Molly, advancing on her threateningly.

And then – "Harry!" the Great Hall seemed to gasp in one voice. And it was, for Harry Potter stepped out of nothingness to confront Lord Voldemort. And the rest, they say, is history.

It was a remarkable climax to the end of Astoria's fifth year at Hogwarts, though the Ministry had forced all students to retake that academic year. Hogwarts was different, and she didn't she would get used to attending classes in rooms with an entire wall torn out.

But mostly she couldn't get used to the change that underwent some of the Slytherins. Specifically Draco Malfoy. He was a self-obsessed idiot when they were younger, caring only for himself and presumed himself to be superior over all else. Including her. He then grew into a moper and quite literally became a loner last year, skin becoming paler and paler and disappearing off doing who-knows-what all day.

But Astoria liked the new change in him. He opened up to the world, even if the world turned him down at every turn. He never gave up. He sought out opportunities to apologize and seek forgiveness, he actively worked to prove his allegiance was not with the Death Eaters. And unlike some people, Astoria could tell that he was sincere.

And then there was Mafalda Weasley, whom Astoria later learned had rushed into the battle after her, only to be struck in the head by a misfired Stunning Curse. Astoria rushed to the hospital wing, guilt rising up in her chest again, spending sleepless nights by her side until–

"Wake up, sleepyhead," Mafalda nudged Astoria. She was sleeping on Mafalda's stomach.

Astoria raised her head and opened her sleepy eyelids. "M-Mafalda!" she yelled, pulling her friend into a hug. "I-I thought..."

Mafalda grinned. "You've been a bad influence on me, Greengrass. The one time I act like you and jump headfirst into danger, I end up like this." She gestured to herself.

Astoria laughed and hugged her friend even tighter. She could live with herself now that she had chosen the right path over the easy. She stared a broken window at the beautiful sun and sparkling lake. Astoria smiled contently. The war was over. Britain was safe. All was well.

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><p><strong>I hope you enjoyed this companion and POV piece to the Battle of Hogwarts! Please review! <strong>


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